Corrective sole



Nov. 2, 1937.

E. EHRLICH CORRECTIVE SOLE Filed NOV. 24, 1934 IIIIIA m EDWARD EHRLJGHBY 2 Md? ATTORNEYS Patented Nov. 2, 193 7- UNITED STATES CORRECTIVE SOLEEdward Ehrlich, Amsterdam, Netherlands Application November 24, 1934,Serial No. 754,563

In Great Britain November 30, 1933 2 Claims.

It is known that the so-called orthopaedic foot wear is intended toprevent deformation of the foot by providing a fitting that conformswith the natural outline of the foot more. closely and individually orto correct the dislocations of the bones of the foot by a built-inspring that serves to reinforce the shank of the footwear and byenlarged stiifenera, Furthermore, there exist footwear and shoeinsertions of orthopaedic design of various kinds that serve to lift andto raise the deformed lowered or dropped bones and arches of the foot byauxiliary supporting attachments arranged under the longitudinal andtransverse arches either built'in the shoe or simply put in loose.

Such footwear, shoe insertions or the like intended exclusivelytosupport only partially allow for the peculiarities ofload-distribution and static condition of the foot without consideringat all the mechanism of motion and the dynamic qualities of the foot.The differently arranged auxiliary supporting attachments which aretoprovide an orthopaedic support to the structure The existing orthopaedicarrangements and attachments even are acting as a hindrance to motion asthey cause unrequlred displacements of forces within the foot by theirbraking actions which are objectionable or harmful to the foot and,being transmitted to the leather upper of the footwear, ruin ordetrimentally affect the footwear prematurely by continuous repulsive orrecoiling action.

Such footwear, shoe insertions or the like do not provide on thisaccount for the complicated peculiarities of the various and differenttypes of feet when in motion (for instance, a dropped or lowered footwith a multiple broken axis of movement or a hollow foot with tendencyto alternating distortion and tilting of the ankles) as regards themechanical co-ordination of the 55 muscular system and of foot motionjust as the individual conditions of shifting the weight of the bodyfrom the big toe of one foot to the heel of the other foot.

In accordance with the present invention 1 5 provide, not for supportingpurposes but for of the foot throughout undergo the fundamentaldynamically influencing the foot, footwear of any kind, shoe insertionsor the like which have upon or under the treading base for the foot twoor more fixed or movable inclined lever acting planes (like guidingfins) which are arranged in opposition one against the other, and slopetowards each other and to the fulcrum or treading base whilst beingseparated by a groove which proximate direction from heel to ball.

By this arrangement an orthopaedic acting compulsory or enforcedcompensation of the abmay be enlarged and which extends in the apnormalwalking conditions is achieved by means of coupling the middlefoot andforefoot, which are guided from' the heelbone according totthepeculiarities of the load and the physical forces acting on thedifferent types of normal, weak, fiat, hollow and other feet,Consequently the centre of gravity of the load will actually be locatedin a correct static balance but there result upon the foot, multiple and(in respect to the changing static and dynamic requirements of rest andmotion) variable lever acting effects which automatically neutralize thebraking action and forces in the different portions of the foot whichdecrease the efliciency of the foot action, thereby forcing the foot tostep and to shift in such manher that its interlocking chain of dynamicfunctions and its moving conditions resulting out of their totality areapproximately substituting those of a normal acting foot.

This unhindered sequence, of the dynamic functions of the foot and ofthe eonnectedparts realizes a practical effect by increasing theemciency as well as in the elimination of the objectionable tensions anddistortions on the leather upper of the footwear and on the welted,vglued and other connections with the treading sole.

In order that the invention may be clearly understood and readilycarried into effect, the same will now be more fully described withreference to the accompanying diagrammatic drawing, in whichz- Figure 1isa plan of the treading sole for the right foot of footwear or thelikeintended for a lowered or'dropped foot.

Figure 2 is a cross-section .on the line lI1I of 'Figure 1 showing theposition of the forefoot.

Figure 3 is a cross-section on the line LII-III of Figure 1 showing theposition of the middlefoot.

Figure 4 is a cross-section on the line IVIV of Figure 1 showing theposition of the heel part.

Figures 5, 6, 7 and 8 showin the same mannerthe abnormal walking will becorrected in such 7 acting foot. The line t-m also partly forms thedemarcation or groove between the inclined lever acting planes b-fic(heel lever) and d-e-lc-n (forefoot .lever) which slope down to thisdemarcation on the sides of which they are arranged in opposition toeach other, both in the longitudinal and transverse directions. In thismanner the lever/acting planes or plane portions partly individually andpartly in cooperation participate in the reversing action which is toguide the foot. Atthe depression a the big toe joint rests on a dishedbearing area- Out of this depression a the groove 11 cd leads to anotherdepression g. At b-c the heel lever is inclined upwardly from thefulcrum or base to H and then is inclined downwardly to the heel bearing1 from where the heel re'st slantingly curved, extends to 9 (Figure 4).From point 9 approximately, the horizontal or dished fulcrum begins torise to d-e and is sloping down from h in the manner that the heads ofthe outer metatarsal bones, independent-from an underpropping of knownkind of the thirdmetatarsal bone are effectively influenced by a camlever action. The'elevation h is sloping down on its fore edge to thebearing of the phalanges.

Out of the Figures 1 to 4 follows that the forefoot is situated in aninclined position. h-a (Figure 2) and onthe other hand the heel part isbrought in the inclined position fg (Figure 4), thus. is posed inopposition to the forefoot. With regard to line II.III[ (Figure 3) heelpart and forefoot just as well are in an axially turned positionenabling a limited propeller-like movement in the horizontal and.vertical directions.

7 When in motion 1. e. during walking or running, the treading soleexercises multiple rotating and lever acting effects upon the foot towhich the same in its different joint articulations immediately isreacting like a coupled swinging bar. The

' portion circumferenced by bco-ed p participates hereby in substantialand effective manner by forming a fixed pulley-like notch in thetransverse direction combined with a double armed lever, over whichattachment the foot not only will be twisted and heaved, but over whichthe weight of the body is shifted when in motion from point'g to a andwhen at rest from a toy without any possibility of sliding forwardin-the footwear. The more the abnormal walking conditions deviate fromthevnormal, the more the 212 is balanced and compensated to direction asa pulley-like notch in combination with a double lever). shifting theweight of the body when in motion from f to h eventually when at restfrom h to f.

In the Figures 5 to 8 the invention is demon- According to a feature ofthe invention the dynamically compensating effect upon the foot may beobtained by a suitably formed treading base in footwear, shoe insertionsor the like intended for all types of feet, that the groove nc-d-g(Figure 1) between the opposed inclined lever acting planes, passingover inelastic or fixed arrangement and in. gradual transition in theseplanes is enlarged in a manner, that its extension and enlargement isforming an integrating constituent and an efiective working element ofthe treading base for the required compulsory compensation.

The formation of the inclined lever acting planes and the otherarrangement may be achieved in, any suitable manner under or upon thetreadingbase for the foot, for example by using in the manufacture lastswhich are formed in such way that the counter-relief of the sole showsin negative manner the characteristic features of this invention or bymoulding the treading base in plastic or elastic material, for in-,

stance, rubber, resin substances or the like by press process.

The formation of the treading base further may be achieved as anexpedient by working in suitable material or filling pieces as forinstance leather, wooden or cork compounds, rubber, felt,

or the like, or by carving the required arrangements in the inner soleas well as using sepa= rately manufactured loose arch supports, shoeinsertions or the like, preparatively worked or fluished according tothe nature of the invention.

In the drawing and in the specification the inclined lever acting planesare indicated and referred to as planes. It is, however, in the natureof the invention that these inclined planes as well as the other partsof the treading base for the foot may be shaped in a'curved or dishedmanner which is in accordance with the anatomic formation of the foot.The aforesaid inclined lever acting planes, depressions or the likewhich are provided at the treading base of the footwear may in someinstances be concealed or covered, for example by a layer of suitablematerial, so that ordinarily the formation of the treading base or soleof the shoe is not visible. The covering layer, however, is such that itpermits of the inclined'lever acting planes, depressions or the likeWhat I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis:-

1. A corrective sole for insertion in shoes characterized by opposedinclined lever-acting planes sole, said planes being formed by elevatedportions tapering in thickness from the opposite edges of said sole andmeeting only in the shank thereof in a line which is inclined withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the sole.

2. A corrective sole for insertion in shoes characterized by opposedinclined lever-acting planes on its foot-supporting surface located infront of and in the rear of the shank portion of the sole, said planesbeing formed by elevated portions tapering in thickness from theopposite edges of said sole and substantially meeting in the shankthereof alone in a practically straight line which is inclined withrespect to the longitudinal axis of the sole.

becoming eflective'when foot pressure is applied under the weight of thebody.

